Tag Archives: Houston

Metro still has unresolved issues

Posted on May 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

With the FTA and its Buy American requirements. A central issue in a federal investigation of the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s compliance with “Buy America” regulations remained unresolved after meetings in Washington, Metro board Chairman Gilbert Garcia said on Thursday. Plans … Continue reading →

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Still focusing on overtime

Posted on May 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Annise Parker talks again about trying to control HPD and HFD overtime costs as a way of bridging the city’s budget shortfall. Mayor Annise Parker provided an early picture of how she intends to close a $140 million budget … Continue reading →

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Not too bad a job returning those Census forms

Posted on May 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We did better than in 2000. Houston, Harris County and Texas each exceeded their 2000 Census mail-in return rates this year while falling short of the national rate, according to final figures released Wednesday. In Houston, 67 percent of those … Continue reading →

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You want more information about term limits?

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Of course you do. And I’ve got you covered. Via email from Robert Stein, I give you the following: – A research paper from 2002, co-authored by Dr. Stein, called “Public Support for Term Limits: Another Look at Conventional Thinking”. … Continue reading →

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HPD suspends eight for “excessive force”

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Uh oh. Eight Houston Police Department officers from the Westside command’s gang unit have been relieved of duty in an investigation into a videotaped incident of suspected excessive force used against a suspect, Houston police union officials confirmed tonight. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Don’t play ball with the state of Arizona

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

What Kevin Blackistone says. About 10 years ago, the NCAA made one of its most bold and upright decisions: it refused to allow any more of its postseason tournaments, like March Madness, to be held in South Carolina until the … Continue reading →

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Why these term limits?

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

David Mincberg has an op-ed about the city’s term limits law that makes some interesting points but doesn’t quite get at the issue of whether the system we actually have now is the best way to meet the goals of … Continue reading →

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Still trying to save the Dome

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Nancy Sarnoff reports. A new page has sprung up on Facebook called Save the Astrodome. It was created by the Houstonian behind www.AmnesiaHouston.org, a Web site aimed at bringing attention to the city’s disappearing landmarks. The creator compares the Astrodome … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Where does your school rank?

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

How good is your neighborhood school? Not just in terms of its Texas Education Agency’s rating, but in comparison to other schools? Here’s a way to find out. The greater Houston area is home to some of the best — … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The anti-red light camera referendum drive begins

Posted on April 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the anti-red light camera forces intend to collect enough petition signatures to put a charter referendum on the ballot this November. On Friday, they got started. Because red-light camera citations remain outside the realm of tickets that … Continue reading →

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Local food

Posted on April 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

One of the more interesting results from this year’s Houston Area Survey was the attitude expressed about locally grown food. From a Houston Tomorrow press release: An overwhelming majority of Houstonians feel that it is important to be able to … Continue reading →

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Who’s using electronic textbooks?

Posted on April 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

According to this DMN story, the electronic textbook revolution hasn’t exactly taken hold just yet, at least not in the Metroplex. The [Texas Education Agency] has budgeted more than $800 million for textbooks in 2010-11, but it’s not clear how … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

HPD and HFD overtime

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As is the case with the Harris County Sheriff’s office, the Houston Police Department and Houston Fire Department spend a lot of money on overtime. A Houston Chronicle analysis shows that most of the money — $50 million — went … Continue reading →

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A gloomy Survey

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The 2010 Houston Area Survey is out, and not surprisingly the results are pretty gloomy. Harris County residents this year offered the bleakest assessment of their personal finances, past and future, in the 29-year history of the Houston Area Survey. … Continue reading →

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Council adopts higher water rate hike

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

City Council voted to adopt the higher water rate hike that was proposed this week. And apparently set the stage for a lawsuit. Council members Mike Sullivan, Oliver Pennington and C.O. Bradford voted against the plan. Pennington, Bradford and several … Continue reading →

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Wrapup from “Houston Have Your Say: Education Crisis”

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I thought last night’s broadcast of Houston Have Your Say: Education Crisis went very well. You can see rebroadcasts of the show on Thursday, April 22, at 1:00 am; Friday, April 23, at 8:00 pm; and Sunday, April 25, at … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Council may consider higher water rate hikes

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, a water rate hike of about 12 percent was proposed by Mayor Parker earlier this month. That ran into some resistance from apartment dwellers, since the hike would be higher for multi-family residences than it would be … Continue reading →

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Pauline Higgins sues Metro

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Pauline Higgins, the former chief counsel for Metro who was fired in the wake of the document shredding scandal, has now sued the agency for wrongful termination. “This case involves cut-throat politics and cronyism at Metro,” Pauline Higgins said in … Continue reading →

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Solving the jail overcrowding problem is everybody’s responsibility

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Putting it another way, we need to be choosier about whom we arrest. The Houston Police Department stopped arresting people for minor traffic violations late Thursday, hours after Sheriff Adrian Garcia told the city to slow down the flow of … Continue reading →

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MayorBob on water rates

Posted on April 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Former Mayor Bob Lanier has an op-ed in today’s paper in support of Mayor Parker’s proposed water rate hike. I believe Mayor Parker will work with council members, homeowner associations and the Houston Apartment Association to develop a plan that … Continue reading →

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One last time for the Dome and the Dynamo

Posted on April 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose now that the Dynamo have finally gotten an official commitment from all relevant parties to go forward with their downtown stadium idea that it was inevitable the question of why didn’t they just use the Astrodome came up … Continue reading →

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Firing Frank

Posted on April 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Annise Parker has said she wants the new Metro board to fire Frank Wilson, the agency’s CEO. So why hasn’t that happened yet? There are a couple of complicating factors. Among them are uncertainty about the outcome of two … Continue reading →

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Metro and the FTA

Posted on April 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I didn’t see this KHOU story, in which a regular Metro critic claims that the agency deliberately gave outdated sales tax revenue information to the Federal Transit Administration in order to get $900 million in federal money for the North … Continue reading →

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Renaming UH-Downtown, take 2

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, UH-Downtown has been trying to rename itself for over a year and a half now. Its first attempt at picking a new moniker, which would have been Houston Metropolitan University, didn’t go well as nobody really liked … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

More on the red light camera poll

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last week I wrote about a poll commissioned by a group called the Keep Houston Safe PAC about attitudes towards red light cameras. The result was quite favorable for the cameras, but at the time I didn’t have full information … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , | 24 Comments

Houston, Have Your Say on education

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve had a lot to say about public education and related issues lately, from school finance to HISD and so forth. This coming Tuesday, Houston PBS station KUHT will have another episode of Houston Have Your Say to discuss the … Continue reading →

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Happy birthday, Discovery Green!

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Two years old now. Two years after it opened, downtown’s Discovery Green park has drawn 55 percent more visitors than projected and has emerged as a key asset to Houston’s convention business, officials say. The 12-acre, $122 million park has … Continue reading →

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Ashby developers refile lawsuit

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Originally filed in county court, the lawsuit by the Ashby Highrise developers has been re-filed in state district court. [The suit] will focus more heavily on claims the project was denied permits for its original design because it was subjected … Continue reading →

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Once again mulling the fate of the Astrodome

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Am I the only one who noticed the omission in this story about the current state of the Astrodome? Debt and interest payments will amount to more than $2.4 million this year, according to a payment schedule for the higher … Continue reading →

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Spieler on commuter rail

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the Offcite blog: Wednesday, Mayor Annise Parker gave Christof Spieler, Chair of the Cite editorial committee, a big hug after swearing him in as a Metro board member. A picture of their embrace landed on page B3 of Thursday’s … Continue reading →

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Weingarten’s whining

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, the folks at Weingarten are a wee bit sensitive about the negative reactions they’ve gotten since their plans to demolish the interior of the Alabama Theater became public knowledge. They’ve been keeping their PR people busy with a continued … Continue reading →

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Library hours to be cut back

Posted on April 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise here. Hammered by $2.2 million in budget cuts, the Houston Public Library system this month will reduce its hours by 28 percent — closing most of its 42 branches on Saturdays — and trim expenditures for library materials. … Continue reading →

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Don’t we have some kind of ordinance for this?

Posted on April 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is I-10 at Studemont on Wednesday morning. They started building this thing on Monday, and by Wednesday evening there were billboards on display. Once I realized what it was, I said to myself “Don’t we have some kind of … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

What’s the deal with parking?

Posted on April 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Andrew Burleson attended the first community meeting to discuss possible changes to the city’s parking requirements, and gives a report on what was discussed. He also has a nice discussion on the economics of parking, which one hopes will have … Continue reading →

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